I, Farm Boy!
(By: Sec. Manny Piñol)
It's Always Beneficial
To Listen To Experts
There are lessons in farming which could not be learned through textbooks and in classrooms.
For so long, I had believed that feeding my goats with a variety of forage which the boys cut and carry to the farm was the best system.
So, I fed my goats with Madre de Agua, rensoni, Flamengia, Kakawate, Ipil-ipil and even Langka leaves.
In spite of this high protein forage that I was giving them, I still was not able to get the body that I wanted.
I have always envied the healthy goats of my US-based goat raising friends.
That was until a friend, who I met in 2016, introduced me to the Silage Feeding technology for ruminants which had long been practiced by cattle-producing countries.
Arnel Corpuz, a General Santos City native who managed Wagyu feedlots in Australia for 11 years, emphasized that changing forage every now and then disturbs the rumen of cattle, goats or sheep.
The principle is Consistency in Feeding which requires the farmer to feed his animals with the same feed daily to stabilize the feed processing in the rumen.
Any new feed introduced must go through a 9-day transition process which means that for the first 3 days, the new feed should only be 25%, then 50-50 on the second 3 days, 75% on the third 3 days and then full transition on the 10th day onwards.
It was not until early this year when I finally embraced Arnel's Consistent Feeding technology using Sorghum Silage mixed with rice bran, copra meal, seaweeds and micronutrients.
Today, less than 2 months after the farm adopted the feeding technology, the indicators of a sound feeding program could be seen in the body of the goats.
They are not in the top form as I wanted them to be but the goats are healthier with robust body.
It always pays to listen to stories borne out of long farm experience.
DISCLAIMER:
All of the content in this video belongs to their respective owners.
I do not own any of the footage shown or music used in this video.
All Credits To Sec. Manny Piñol